The Green Bay Packers and WPS Health Insurance paid special tribute to the McDowell family during Sunday's Packers-Eagles game for 'Operation Fan Mail.'
U.S Air Force Technical Sergeant Danielle McDowell and her husband, Technical Sergeant Shane McDowell, are both currently stationed in Ramstein, Germany, at the Ramstein Air Base.
Technical Sergeant (Danielle) McDowell, originally from Tigerton, Wis., has been in the U.S. Air Force for 12 years and recently returned to Germany from Kabul, which was her fifth deployment overall and her third to Afghanistan. At their home station in Germany, McDowell is the non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of Outbound Assignments, where she reviews and approves all orders for active duty members to change duty locations from Ramstein. She was honored as Airman of the Year while stationed in Portugal in 2006 and has earned several Air Force achievement and commendation medals.
Technical Sergeant (Shane) McDowell, originally from Cullman, Ala., has been in the U.S. Air Force for 15 years. He has served in four overseas assignments, deploying once to Kyrgyzstan. He currently serves as the NCOIC of the Emergency Management Contingency Operations training site located at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany and has earned several Air Force achievement and commendation medals. The Packers-Eagles matchup on Sunday was his first time at an NFL game.
The McDowell family was home in Wisconsin for a visit and attended the game with Danielle's parents, Mark and Joan Carlson.
Operation Fan Mail, which debuted in 2007, is designed to recognize families with a member who is on active duty. The Packers and WPS Health Insurance will host a family at each 2014 home game and recognize them on the field during pregame activities. A total of 70 families have been recognized through the program thus far.
To choose families, the Packers and WPS Health Insurance are asking interested families, or friends of eligible families, to submit an essay, 500 words or less, on why a particular fan should be saluted. Essays can be sent to: Operation Fan Mail, P.O. Box 10628, Green Bay, WI, 54307-0628. Essays also can be submitted to the Packers online at packers.com/gameday/gamedaypromotions/operationfanmail.
In addition to being recognized on-field prior to the game, selected families receive four tickets to the game and a care package from WPS.
Families intended for recognition are those that have a member serving on active duty. The family member can be a spouse, mother, father, son, daughter or sibling.
